Crafting champions
At the beginning of this year’s league, Brian Cody took a team that just over a year previously had been good enough to win the All-Ireland title, dismantled it, brought in several new pieces, rearranged several vital elements.
The keeper was still there, as were the No. 2 and No 3.
Captain Willie O’Connor retired, so Philly Larkin, a guy who prefers the open spaces, was moved back from the wing. All-Star centre-back Eamonn Kennedy was dropped, brilliant left-half-back Peter Barry shifted across; two new lads, JJ Delaney and Richie Mullally, introduced to power the wings.
At midfield, Derek Lyng was introduced to partner Andy Comerford; in the half-forward line, yet another All-Star, Denis Byrne, also dropped off the panel, John Power relegated to the bench, with Henry Shefflin brought from the corner to the pivot, Jimmy Coogan, a bolt from the blue, introduced on the other wing during the All-Ireland semi-final, and started in the final.
Inside, DJ Carey slotted into the corner, another newcomer Martin Comerford at full-forward, Charlie Carter, along with Brian McEvoy, also relegated to the subs bench. At the end of it all, All-Ireland champions, but even while doing it, the National League title was also claimed.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
There was controversy of course, serious criticism inside Kilkenny at some of the decisions. The quartet of Denis Byrne, John Power, Brian McEvoy and Charlie Carter on their own would trouble any defence in the country, while others questioned the wisdom of discarding the kind of strength and ability provided by the likes of Kennedy and Canice Brennan. Results, however, are the final arbiter, and of the youngsters introduced by Cody in a season that saw only one competitive loss, Delaney, Mullally, Lyng and Martin Comerford will all be strongly in the running for an All-Star award, while both McEvoy and Carter also contributed handsomely to this All-Ireland win for Kilkenny, albeit in support roles.
As Cody reflects on his masterpiece, first the momentary lapse.
Allianz League Division One (March 10th): Galway 0-15 Kilkenny 0-9
“I was happy that day”, he says now, on reflection. “We had a lot of new players out, but for 45 minutes on a bad day, we were very competitive, showed a lot of drive and spirit. Great desire, great hunger, and a great willingness to fight. We lost our way after John Hoyne was sent off, but I was happy that we had something to work on, I felt we were going in the right direction.
“The Clare game (in the league) came very quickly after that, one I felt was going to be another real test. Clare had beaten Galway, had good expectations. , we were playing them in Ennis, that was going to be a deciding game for many of that team. We played very, very well, beat Clare by nine points I think in the end, and I knew then. We had shown great character again, great fight, the players had shown they weren’t afraid to go out on and take on the big teams in their own backyard. I could see the team developing nicely”.
Allianz League semi-final (April 21) Kilkenny 2-14 Limerick 0-15
“Another big one, for us, playing Limerick in Limerick, and I was delighted at the prospect. They were the form team at the time, had destroyed Clare in the quarter-final, were spoken of as genuine Munster championship contenders. Another huge test for us, because they too were looking to win the league, though with a far more experienced team than ours. We were slow to start, but as he’d done in the Clare game, Henry Shefflin took on a huge leadership role, as did Peter Barry at centre-back, where he had also impressed against Clare. The rest of the players knuckled down, the new lads settled in, midfield worked very hard, we contested every ball with serious ferocity. I was very happy with the display and the result. Things were taking shape”.
Allianz League final (May 5th): Kilkenny 2-15 Cork 2-14
“We started very well, Eddie Brennan, Martin Comerford, it looked like the game was going to be over early. Hugely important for the development of this team was that Cork came back, hurled us off the pitch in many ways for most of the rest of the game, but still we hung in there. Our defence was massive, James McGarry outstanding as usual. When they went a point ahead, I was afraid it was over, but we brought on the two Dowlings, and they scored three points. That late surge, however, wouldn’t have been worth a curse without all the battling early on, when the game was going against us. Very satisfying, that team really wanted to win the league, they wanted those medals for themselves, and it was a huge part of our development”.
Leinster SHC semi-final, June 9, Thurles: Kilkenny 2-20 Offaly 1-14
FOR the third competitive game in a row, Kilkenny stuck with the same starting fifteen. “I had said all along that was our best fifteen; no-one seemed to believe me, but I meant it.
“People say we won that game comfortably - I didn’t feel secure ’til the final minutes. We have great respect for Offaly in Kilkenny, and if they had got a few breaks in that first half, it would have been a very different game, because they threatened to take us apart at times. Our two goals were crucial, it gave us a breathing space, but again, Henry played an outstanding role in that game”.
Scorers: H. Shefflin 0-11 (0-5 frees); E. Brennan 1-1; C. Carter 0-4; J. Hoyne 1-0; B. McEvoy 0-2; D. Lyng, P. Tennyson, 0-1 each.
Leinster SHC final, July 7, Croke Park: Kilkenny 0-19 Wexford 0-17.
A TOUGH, tough battle. Free-taker Paul Codd ended with 13 points of Wexford’s total (11 from placed balls), but this was no one-man show. Having taken care of Dublin in their semi-final, Wexford were well up for this one, put it up to Kilkenny for the full 70 minutes.
“Everybody underestimated the challenge of Wexford coming into this game, but we didn’t. They had beaten Limerick in the All-Ireland quarter-final last year, would have beaten Tipperary in the semi-final if there had been another few minutes on the clock, yet either of those sides would have been written up against us in a big way. We paid Wexford that sort of respect, and it was well we did, because they put everything they had into that Leinster final - that’s why they lost so badly to Clare the following week, I’m convinced. Again, Henry was crucial in this game, got two brilliant points at a critical stage of the second half, took on the responsibility. The defence generally played very well, Noel Hickey particularly, but Peter Barry put on an exhibition. Took off some big names in that game, but we knew we now had a really good panel of players, and you had to use them”.
Scorers: H. Shefflin 0-8 (0-5 frees); B. McEvoy 0-4; D. Lyng 0-2; R. Mullally 0-2; E. Brennan 0-2; B. Dowling 0-1.
All Ireland semi-final, August 18, Croke Park: Kilkenny 1-20 Tipperary 1-16.
THE big one, this was the clash everyone wanted to see. All-Ireland winners of the previous two years, generally rated the two best sides in the country, it didn’t disappoint. Still all square on 58 minutes, it was always going to take a bit of magic to separate these two, and in the 60th minute, it duly came. A brilliant run from the returning D.J. Carey, precision hand-pass to sub Jimmy Coogan (who had scored a magnificent point minutes earlier), gaping net.
“I knew we were playing a team that could beat us, Tipperary are a quality team, score more easily than most teams. An important plus for us was that DJ was back, brought a new dimension to the thing. There was a potential for criticism, a risk, in starting him after so long out of top competitive action (almost a full season), but that never bothered me in the slightest. It was DJ Carey, everyone knows the quality of the man - he’d walk onto any team.
“I was never going to take off Philly Larkin, no way. Eoin Kelly got three points from play early in the game - I’d put none of those down to Philly. From minute one of the game, he was doing all the things that make him a great player; a wonderful reader of the game, he was covering across, attacking the ball. Kelly is a great player, and three points for someone of that calibre is nothing - there was no need for panic. Another notable factor in this game was that Andy Comerford was back to his absolute best, a massive game for us”.
Scorers: H. Shefflin 0-7 (0-4 frees); J. Coogan 1-1; DJ Carey 0-4 (0-2 65’s); A. Comerford 0-3; M. Comerford, P. Barry, C. Carter, J. Hoyne, E. Brennan, 0-1 each.
All Ireland final, September 8, Croke Park: Kilkenny 2-20 Clare 0-19.
REALLY, it wasn’t as close as that, and only heroic defence by the Clare backs kept the Banner in this with any chance at all (centre-back Seanie McMahon ended with six points to his credit, one from play). An even more crushing defensive performance by Kilkenny, Larkin and Kavanagh to the fore, saw Clare beaten comprehensively in all six forward positions, though late subs Gearoid Considine and Andrew Quinn did make an impression.
Late but popular cameo appearance by Kilkenny stalwart John Power, bowing out after over a decade at the top.
“This was like a second All-Ireland final for us, in three weeks. The build-up to the Tipp game, the hype, the tension, the rivalry, that was huge, before the semi-final. The way the game went then, a real battle, top-class stuff, great feeling afterwards all round the county, all the hallmarks of an All-Ireland final, yet the reality was that we had nothing to show for it. We had done everything we could, won the game, but now we had to do it all over again, against Clare, and we had to guard against over-reaction to the Tipperary win. Whatever intensity we had in preparing for that game, we had to push it on now again, almost to a new level. Even if we felt we were already at full throttle, we had to find another gear now, lift it again, particularly looking at the way the year was going for Clare.
I knew our preparations were going well, light years ahead of 2001, comparable to 2000, when we won the All-Ireland. There was a massive drive there, training was serious, the way the lads went at it among themselves, fought like tigers. But they knew there was genuine competition for places.
“We got a great start, probably should have been further ahead at half time, but in a way it’s as well when you’re not, fellas can get a bit complacent. They really tore into us after the break, but again the defence held solid. I won’t say I was confident, but I did have a great belief that the players would weather that storm, the frame of mind was perfect. Again, DJ’s goal lifted everyone, as it always does. People were wondering about player resentment, that he hadn’t done the training everyone else had, but that was never a factor - everyone was delighted to see him back, they look up to him. That’s the reality”.
Scorers: H. Shefflin 1-7 (0-4 frees); DJ Carey 1-6 (0-3 frees); M. Comerford, E. Brennan, J. Coogan, D. Lyng, A. Comerford, C. Carter, B. McEvoy, 0-1 each.
SO, mission accomplished. But how was it done? “First, I’d like to make it clear that I’m not on my own. There’s Johnny Walsh, Ger Henderson was there, Noel Skehan replaced him when he had to resign, Mick O’Flynn did a great job on fitness, as did the medical people, we never had a player out injured. Credit to Tadhg Crowley, or doctor, and Robbie Lott our physio - there was a whole team behind the team”.
But, the courage to follow the conviction, to go with players that even in Kilkenny, weren’t that well-known?
“I don’t look on it like that at all. I’m doing the job, and I can only do it the way I think is right. Whatever decisions I make, whatever decisions I take, I’m doing it because I think it’s the right thing to do. I don’t see it as being brave, I don’t see it as being ruthless, I don’t see it as being anything except picking those I think should play next Sunday.
If I’m afraid to do that because of backlash from anyone or anywhere, there’s no point in me being there, because I can’t do the job. You can only do what you think is absolutely right. I won’t be right all the time, nobody is, but you can only do what YOU think is right, and that’s what I’m doing.
“There wasn’t the same excitement, but for me, there was a massive sense of relief. Winning the league, winning the championship, seeing players developing, maturing, working hard, showing guts, spirit, that was very satisfying, and that’s what I look for anytime”.
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